Anaerobic infections in hospital practice.

The role of anaerobes in the pathogenesis of infections was investigated. Anaerobes were isolated from 0,25% of blood cultures and from 15,8% of other specimens tested; in 15,1% of cases where anaerobes were isolated, no aerobes were found. The strains most commonly encountered were Bacteroides fragilis, B. melaninogenicus, Peptostreptococcus anaerobius and Clostridium perfringens. Sensitivity tests in vitro showed all organisms to be sensitive to clindamycin, metronidazole and chloramphenicol, while a large proportion were resistant to penicillin G and smaller numbers were resistant to tetracycline.